Devon and Cornwall five on England para surf team

The English surfers will take to the sea off Huntington Beach in early November

Five surfers from Devon and Cornwall have been selected to represent England in the Para Surfing Championships.

This contest sees the best para surfers in the world face fierce competition for podium places.

The contest will take place at California's Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City USA, between 3 and 9 November.

Charlotte Banfield from Truro, James Price from Torquay, Pegleg Bennett from Perranporth, and Suzanne Edwards and Harlum Lewis from Braunton have been selected among six others.

Bennett told BBC Radio Cornwall he felt "very lucky" to have been selected.

He said he had been surfing for more than 40 years and even started to learn without a prosthetic leg.

"They eventually gave me a beach activities leg, as they called it, and there was no looking back from there," he said.

Discussing the championships, he added: "It's all a bit last-minute and it's all a bit expensive.

"I'm looking for potential sponsors who would like to help a one-legged old guy go and represent their country."

The rest of the squad includes:

• Hannah Dines, Manchester

• Laurie Foti, Australia

• Zoe Smith, Bournemouth

• David Lewis, Hampshire

• Mark Hagger, Bournemouth

• Spike Kane, California

The English team will be led by Phil Williams as team manager and Andy Banks as head coach.

Coaches Jack Patching, Cyril Cox, Deano Griffiths, Matt Jones, and Hannah Brand will also join the team in assistant manager roles.